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A level politics > Comparative theories > Flashcards

Comparative theories Flashcards

1
Q

3

National politics

A
  • Elected into power (power to the people and clear electorate)
  • Government with clear mandate and authority
  • Clear authoritative institutions for taking decisions such as voting on laws and resolving disputes legitimately - army, poicing, military
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2
Q

2

International politics

A
  • Dependent on circumstance and negotiation - no single world government
  • Collective of countries make laws, need consejnt from member states before institution can make decisions
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3
Q

4 duh

4 major world events

A
  • Creation of UN
  • Cuban Missle Crisis
  • 9/11
  • Iraq War 2003
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4
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4

The Billard Ball model

A
  • States are viewed as independent and autonomous entities
  • State-centric model, realist theory
  • Suggested that states, like billard balls, are impermeable and self-contained units which influence each other through external pressure
  • Sovereign states interacting within the state systems are thus seen to behave like a collision of billard balls
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5
Q

3

The Cobwell model

A
  • Criticises billard ball model as there has been substantial growth in cross-border, or transnational flows and transactions - state borders have become increasinly porous
  • States the relations between states have come to be characterised by growing and complex independence and interconnectedness and implies that is difficult to promote economic growth and tackle global warming for any state on its own
  • States are drawn to cooperation and integration by forces such as closer trading anf other economic relationships
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6
Q

2

Hobbes view

A
  • State of nature - anarchy, law is not foreseable
  • Human nature - aggressive self interest, pesismissm, importance of the individudal
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7
Q

2

Oakeshott view

A
  • Recognition and acceptance of the world’s imperfect
  • ‘In political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea; there is neither harbor for shelter nor floor for anchorage’
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8
Q

3

Locke view

A
  • Social contract theory, laws exist in the state of nature
  • Come together to regulate
  • Spoke of a global commonwealth
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9
Q

2

Rawls view

A
  • ‘Theory of Justice’
  • Inequality should be moderated so peope can live a just life
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10
Q

4

Realism

A
  • ‘No natural harmony of interest’
  • Global ‘self-help’ system - no guarantee
  • Belief that human nature is naturally selfish and egoist and therefore states interested in own natural interests - state egoism
  • Human nature is fixed and driven and cannot be changed - states motivated by a dsire to dominate other states
  • Westphalian sovereignty
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11
Q

5

Liberalism

A
  • More optimistic view - human nature not fixed so states can improve and develop
  • Committed to individual liberty and freedom
  • Human and states prefer to work in partnership with other and look for opportunities
  • International cooperation through IGOs is desirable
  • Conflict is feature of global politics but must always be avoided and a last resort
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12
Q

3

Iraq War 2003

A
  • US invaded Iraq, citing the need to eliminate weapons of mass destruction and end Saddam Hussein’s regime - no WMD, and invasion topped Saddam
  • Led to years of instability, sectarian violence, extremist groups like ISIS
  • US troops withdrew 2011
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13
Q

Chinese activity in the South China Sea

A
  • Territoral claims of other nations like Vietnam, the Phillipines, and Malaysia - built artificial islands, militarised these features, enforced its presence, despite international legal rulings in 2019 Hague tribunal - rejecting China’s expansive claims under the ‘Nine Dash Line’
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14
Q

Russian annexation of Crimea 2014

A
  • Following political unrest in Ukraine and the ousting of its pro-Rusian president
  • Controversial referendum, deemed illegitimate by much of the international community
  • Violated Ukraine’s sovereigntiy and international law, sparking widespread condemnation and sanctions from Western countries, but no direct military intervention to reverse it
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15
Q

5

Implications of anarchy for international relations
(realism)

A
  • Natural state of world order is where states compete with each other - hard power
  • All states saying to increase their own power and influence in the global world order
  • States act rationally and prioritise defense
  • Authority of IGOs is limited - nation states have a sovereign right of self interest
  • Security dilemma and states live in a self help system (no 911)
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16
Q

Cooperation

A

The comparison whether global politics is a positive sum game ir zero sum game - liberals believe that by working together, different actors in global politics can both benefit and advance, so this is desirable

17
Q

The EU as an example of cooperation

A

Individually, the member states of the EU would be unable to challenge on the world stage to the same extent as they do when united. The greatest demonstration of this can be seen in the combined economic might the EU wields, but also in terms of its increased structural and soft power

18
Q

3

Ways in which the world is essentially anarchic in nature

A
  • Stats maxms owe to prioritise their own interests. They resort to conflict if necessary - states = selfish
  • The system is anarchical - security matters and states puts this first - security dilemma
  • Conflict is therefore unavoidable as states depend on their own vital interests - they see every state as a potential threat
19
Q

Security dilemma

A

The dilemma that arises from the fact that a build up of weapons for defensive reasons by one state is always liable to be interpretated as aggressive by other states - can lead to an arms race which can lead to mutual assured destruction

20
Q

3

Balance of power theory and bipolarity

A
  • Proposed by Hans Morgenthau
  • Realist
  • Suggests that if you have two superpowers of similar strength developing in international relations, then they will ‘balance’ against each other - as both are aware of the potential damage that war would create, and the uncertainty of victory, war may be delayed under this system
21
Q

4

Hegemonic stability theory and unipolarity

A
  • Realist
  • This theory rests on the idea of a single superpower, or hegemon, dominating the international system - this superpower, by being undisputed, can effectively police global politics and they enforce their own rules and ensure that other actors in the international stick to them
  • It is criticised that they are enforcing their own values, but it does give stability
  • Seen through the Cold War, without the challenge of the USSR, USA established itself as the global hegemon - 1990s was a period of the USA extending its reach
22
Q

First Gulf War

A

When Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait August 1990, George W Bush used USA’s global prestige to build a global coalition to liberate Kuwait under Iraq forces a UN mandate

23
Q

3

Complex interdependence - political

A
  • Increasingly globalised - increase in international and regional government organisations
  • No. of international and regional political institutitons managing shared interests incrase, as has their membership
  • Increase in political challenges that require collective response increases - climate change, organised crime, pandemics (2015 Ebola Crisis)
  • Multipolarity
24
Q

3

Complex interdependence - economic

A
  • WTO - Expanded trade agreements
  • Developed economies investing in developing countries
  • Much improved communication and transportation increases trade between states
25
Q

3

Complex interdependence - social

A
  • Communities previously self-contained increasingly connected in shared media and culture
  • Increased global immigration - more diverse (but erosion to national culture?)
  • Ideas travel pass borders - Arab uprising spread from Tunisia to Egypt and other middle eastern and north african states
26
Q

Postive, 2 examples, criticism

Constraints on conflict - democratic peace theory

A

Less likely to engage in war with each other due to shared nors, institutional constraints, transparency and economic interdependency - globalisation facilitates this
- After the Cold War, an increase in democratic regime
- Peaceful resolution of disputes between western democracies since WW2 - 1996 to present democraices have not fought in wars
- Multilateralism

BUT democracies can experience internal conflicts that complicate this theory and have been engaged in military conflicts against non-democracies

27
Q

Benefit, 1 example, criticism with example

Constraints on conflict - IGOs

A

Entities created by treaty or government betweenm 2 or more sov states facilitate coop on common issues
- UN PeaceKeeping in Cyprus - prevented escalation on the ongoing division between Greek and Turkish Cypriots

BUT UN - Rwanda genocide - 1994 - inable to intervene during genocide - limitating on crisi response

28
Q

Benefit, 3 examples, criticism with example

Constraints on conflict - economic interdependence

A

When countires are mutually relant on each other for goods, services and resources, creating interconnected economies influence stability
- US and China - extensive trade relationship
- EU engage in free trade and share policies
- Japan and South K - supply chains in tech and automotive industries

BUT Covid 19 supply chain disrputed fragile supply chains - economic shortage - Eurozone crisis - economic interdepedence among EU member states led to a crisis where Greece faced financial difficulties

KANTIAN TRIANGLE OF PEACE, ZONES OF PEACE

29
Q

4

Westphalian sovereignity

A
  • The Peace of Westphalia 1648 ended 30 years war in Europe - formalised the modern notion of statehood
  • States are the principle actors on the world stage
  • Each nation has sov over own territory
  • No other state can intervene in its own affairs
30
Q

3

Complex interdependence

A
  • Realists argue that temporary periods of peace established by a balance of power or hegemony, conflict is an inevitable part of global politics, in contrast, liberals disagree
  • 1795 Kant proposed the idea of ‘perpetual peace’ - liberal standpoint, coop is the great counter to conflict - if states and non state actors become interlinked, makes war a lot less possible
  • Developed by Keohane whoch argued that globalisation has driven forward the ties between different actors in international relations, making them more dependent on each other

A level politics (37 decks)

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